Artist of the Season

Matt Haimovitz

The much praised and Grammy-nominated cellist Matt Haimovitz is our artist of the season!

Matt Haimovitz is a cello genius, as well as a musical visionary with a clear view on making every album a musical masterpiece. Matt Haimovitz has been praised by The New York Times as a “ferociously talented cellist who brings his megawatt sound and uncommon expressive gifts to a vast variety of styles” and by The New Yorker as “remarkable virtuoso” who “never turns in a predictable performance.”

His new recording, "Overtures to Bach" features works by six different composers, which were commissioned especially for him and are released on the album as World Premiere recordings. The new overtures expand upon the multitude of spiritual, cross-cultural, and vernacular references found in the Bach, building a bridge from the master’s time to our own. The composers of the different pieces are established names: Philip Glass, Du Yun, Vijay Iver, Roberto Sierra, David Sanford and Luna Pearl Woolf. All composers have worked closely with Haimovitz, resulting in a unique and dynamic album.

“I’ve been playing and thinking about the Bach Cello Suites for over three decades,” says Haimovitz, “and with these new commissions – a culminating moment in my relationship with the Suites – I feel like I’m giving back to Bach. I’ve asked six composers, whom I admire so much, to engage with his music. It’s my form of time travel – going back into the mind of Bach through the compositional process of these composers today.” (Matt Haimovitz)

As PENTATONE's Artist of the Season, Haimovitz will reveal exclusive insights into his latest recording and will take you with him into his music-filled life.

Press Quotes

The Holland Times

It is the nuances of these remarkable instruments and the dynamics between them, brought forth by the skilled and imaginative performances of Haimovitz and O’Riley, that give this recording a unique place in the discography of Beethoven’s works for cello and piano.